Ne T est
THal begins for McVeigh
DENVER (AP) — In a courtroom
protected by barricades and armed
guards, Oklahoma City bombing de
fendant Timothy McVeigh gazed in
tently at potential jurors Monday as
they spoke of their willingness to im
pose the death penalty for the deadli
est terrorist attack ever on U.S. soil.
McVeigh, wearing a buzz haircut,
an open-collared blue shirt and kha
kis, smiled and shook his attorney’s
hand as he was brought into the court
room from a basement holding cell for
the start of jury selection. He nodded
and mouthed “good morning” through
a grin when the judge introduced him
to potential jurors.
But during detailed and excruci
atingly slow questioning, McVeigh’s
stare tightened over his folded hands
as prospective jurors discussed how
they could recommend execution if he
is convicted in the April 19, 1995,
I
blast that killed 168 people and injured
hundreds more.
“It’s hard to place yourself in the
role of deciding the fate of another
human being on these terms,” said a
middle-aged man identified only as
No. 858. “Yet there has to be some
ultimate price to pay.”
The self-employed financial ad
viser who once lived in Tulsa, Okla.,
said he has not formed an opinion
about McVeigh but believes there may
be other suspects who have not been
arrested.
The second prospective jura- ques
tioned, a churchgoing grandmother in
her 60s, said she cried and prayed for
the victims as she watched television
coverage of the bombing. Her domi
nant memory ofMcVeigh was the foot
age of him in an orange jail jumpsuit
being led out of a county jail in Okla
homa.
“I felt very sorry for him,” she said.
“For such a young man to waste his
life”
McVeigh attorney Stephen Jones
then asked: “You didn’t feel sorry be
cause they arrested the wrong man?”
“I didn’t know,” she said.
As the prospective jurors took the
stand to talk about everything from
their view of the justice system to their
opinions on the O.J. Simpson case,
they were hidden behind a partial wall
from nearly everyone in the audience
section of the courtroom.
Given the slow pace — only four
potential jurors were questioned by
midaftemoon — it could take two
weeks or more for lawyers to choose
12 jurors and six alternates from a pool
of hundreds, and all those picked must
be willing to consider the death pen
alty as punishment.
endev (^Mercies
An exceptional boy meets an untimely end
By Nancy Shuuns
Associated Press
He was a big boy who walked
early, spoke late and never
did say
much. By the time he was 3, he
could piece together intricate
puzzles. He was cuddly and round;
his parents couldn’t keep their
hands off him. They considered
him their baby, even after two ad
ditional miracles, David and
Joshua, arrived.
Vincent reveled in fatherhood.
He had a gift for it, too, a rare abil
ity to play every part well —
teacher, disciplinarian, cuddler and
clown; to be a child one minute, a
grown man die next. He credits his
own father, as well as his years as
a youth minister, with teaching him
how to empathize with children. He
calls it “feeling their hearts.”
He helped his boys with their
homework and joined in their pil
low fights. But he could be strict
with them, too, maintaining a level
of discipline he’d found lacking in
America, where children call
grown-ups by their first names and
teachers aren’t allowed to use
straps.
There were other differences. In
Jamaica, “I’d never experienced
racism. I didn’t know I was black
until I came here.” To prepare his
sons, he showed them the prison
where Jackie works nights as a
nurse, saying, “Prisons are built in
the black neighborhood. They are
built for you. Over my dead body
will you wind up there. I am the
law in this house. I will set you
right.”
Family court convened in the
living room. “The last argument we
had, Sammy won. ‘Yes, Daddy, I’m
guilty,’ he said., ‘put have mercy. ’”
At thdtjidftfC the? Judge turned to
mush. 3i3Ti
Life by the Bible
In parenthood as in life, the
Grahams’ Bible was their guide
bode. They don’t consider it a bode
at all, really, but rather the directly
inspired word of God. Its timeless
principles are the essence of what
they have tried to impart to their
children: To do right in the eyes of
the Lord, to walk the paths of righ
teousness that lead to eternal re
ward.
Sammy shared their devotion.
At 8, he heard the story of the bap
tism of Jesus and insisted on being
baptized, too. Each Sunday, he’d
take his place in the second pew,
absorb every word of his father’s
sermon, then come forward for his
blessing. Later, they’d have lengthy
discussions. “He was like a little
theologian,” Jackie says, “always
questioning things.”
“How many Gods are there?” (A
typical Sammy question.)
' “One.”
“No, Daddy. There are six: The
Lord, God, Jesus, the Father, the
Son and the Holy Ghost. Six.”
Drying to be like Jesus
The more Sammy learned about
Jesus, the harder he tried to be like
him. He always told the truth, even
when it got him in trouble. He prac
ticed turning the other cheek, look
ing out for the underdog, being
brave. When a dog attacked his
brothers, Sammy saved them by
attacking the dog. But lately, when
other kids teased him, he’d had a
tough time behaving like Jesus.
As the Grahams tell their story,
10-year-old David and 8-year-old
Josh take turns darting into the liv
ing room to eavesdrop and
wheedle. Can they watch TV now?
No, read a book. Can they go out
side and play? No, it’s pouring. Ask
your grandmother a question.
Learn something from long ago.
They are bright, active boys,
fast-moving as minnows. Sammy
was different. He was quiet and
slow, an emotional late bloomer
who was physically ahead of his
peers. “A baby in a grown man’s
body,” Vincent says. And a para
dox in other wayg,'|jjji, ~
* He was logical and precise,
gifted not only at puzzles but at
music and math. He could dissect
complex aiguments with lawyerly
skill. Yet he liked the same toys as
his cousin, an infant. And he was
awkward and clumsy; he couldn’t
even clap. Josh rode a bike before
he could.
In the water, his awkwardness
vanished. Not in the daytime—he
was too ashamed to let anyone see
him in his bathing suit. He had to
swim in long pants and a shirt. But
at night, it was magic, like shed
ding his body. In the water at night,
he was free.
Growing differently
He’d grown increasingly self
conscious. “Fifth grade was socially
tough. He had been very sensitive,
very soft. His tears were close, and
he internalized a lot more,” Vincent
says. . r
“Puberty came very early. He
started to develop little breasts.’ I
told him, 'You are going to grow
out of it, Sammy. Look at those
shoulders! You are so handsome!
Girls will be fighting over you
someday.’”
But Sammy didn’t care about
someday. What mattered to Sammy
was now.
Vincent understood. He tried to
help Sammy devise a new strategy,
since his retaliation attempts al
ways backfired. He suggested
counting to 10 and walking away.
He appealed to the logical Sammy
as opposed to the sensitive one,.
quoting the Bible to help make his
point: “Anger lies in the bosom of
a fool.” And, “My son, if sinners
Ifatiofl/Wortd
Bombs explode in Gaza Strip, injuring Palestinians
JERUSALEM—Two bombs exploded near Jewish settlements in
the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, wounding several Palestinians, police said.
One of the blasts was first thought to have exploded next to a school
bus leaving the Jewish settlement of Nezarim, but a Jewish settler leader
said the bus had been delayed.
“There was a huge blast,” said Nezarim settler leader Shlomo
Kostiner. “Luckily, the bus was still in the settlement for technical rea
sons and a terrible disaster was prevented.”
Police said the second blast near the Kfar Darom settlement oc
curred when a cart loaded with explosives went off near an Israeli bus.
A police statement said there were no Israeli casualties but several
Palestinians were wounded.
The explosions were the first attacks in Israel since a March 21
suicide bombing killed three Israeli women at a Tel Aviv cafe.
Clinton lifts Cold War restriction on Chinese ships
WASHINGTON — For the first time since the 1950s, Chinese
' ships can dock near U.S. military installations with just a day’s notice
—a result of the Clinton administration lifting a Cold War-era restric
tion still imposed cm the former Soviet republics.
In one of three deals in the past year helping Beijing’s main ship
ping company, the United States quietly agreed to end the requirement
that Chinese ships provide four days notification when entering one of
a dozen sensitive ports.
In exchange, China agreed to provide new business opportunities it
had first promised American shippers in 1993 but had not yet deliv
ered. Officials say implementation of that offer is progressing slowly.
The primary Chinese beneficiary of the deal struck in the spring
and summer of 1996 is China Ocean Shipping Co. (COSCO), the state
run shipping company that participated in the negotiations.
School axes girl’s condom-test science project
THERMAL, Calif.—She won the school district science fair tro
phy for her project on condom reliability — but Shari Lo was disquali
fied from a regional contest because school officials said she went against
their sex-education policy promoting abstinence.
“Because it is on condom reliability, it basically encourages safe
sex. Our philosophy is abstinence, not safe sex,” said Colleen Gaynes,
superintendent of the Coachella Valley Unified School District.
Lo, .15, said at first she was confused — but now die’s upset and
plans to appeal the decision.
“I’m disappointed that my project was judged scientifically and
scored well but didn’t score well with some people’s opinions,” she
said.
Ms. Lo bought six brands of condoms, put them through strength,
endurance and temperature tests and rated them. No human trials
were involved.
Women train for combat
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) —
The first women to undergo Marine
combat training alongside their male
comrades threw live grenades and
fired Irig guns Monday on a remote
comer of this sprawling base.
“We’re getting just as dirty as they
are,” said Pvt. Jessica Greer of Silver
Spring, Md., after firing a grenade
launcher.
Camp Lejeune is the hone of the
Marine Corps’ infantry school for the
eastern United States. The Corps said
the training is designed to prepare
non-infantry Marines for port or air
port security missions.
“We have to protect our post. It’s
kind of valuable to know what to do,”
said Pvt Rhearina Stebbins, 19, of Las
Vegas. She will work as a postal clerk
after combat training.
Previously, women in the Marines
received only limited combat training
as part of boot camp. They are still
banned from combat assignments in
the Marines, which have had the most
restrictive policy cm women in com
bat.
The Army, Air Force and Navy
allow women in combat aircraft; the
Army and Marines bar women from
serving in infantry, artillery and ar
mored units.
On Monday, Greer was learning to
fire a hefty Mark 19 40 mm grenade
launcher, which takes three people to
operate. It spits out fist-sized shells
that disintegrate with a shower of
shrapnel and a ear-tingling explosion.
“I was kind of nervous at first be
cause it’s a big weapon,” Greer said.
“But after the firing, it’s a rush. It feels
good.”
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